Effect of Slurry Injection System Position on Removal Rate for Shallow Trench Isolation Chemical Mechanical Planarization Using a Cerium Dioxide Slurry

The effect of changes in poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) conformation on removal of Si3N4 film was investigated. PAA was used as a passivation agent by adsorption on an Si3N4 film in shallow-trench isolation chemical–mechanical planarization (STI CMP). Adsorption behavior of PAA on the Si3N4 film and the conformation transition were determined by adsorption isotherms and force measurements using atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a function of ionic strength. AFM results revealed that, as ionic strength increases, the repulsive force between the negatively charged carboxylate groups along the backbone of PAA is reduced due to counterion screening and to the changes of PAA conformation from a stretched to a coiled configuration. At high ionic strength, the coiled conformation of PAA formed a dense passivation layer on the Si3N4 film, which led to suppression of the removal rate of Si3N4 film from 72 to 61 Å/min in the STI CMP process.

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Influence of the electrokinetic behaviors of abrasive ceria particles and the deposited plasma-enhanced tetraethylorthosilicate and chemically vapor deposited Si3N4 films in an aqueous medium on chemical mechanical planarization for shallow trench isolation

Journal of Materials Research ◽

10.1557/jmr.2003.0302 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 2163-2169 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Sang-Kyun Kim ◽

Sangkyu Lee ◽

Ungyu Paik ◽

Takeo Katoh ◽

Jea-Gun Park

Keyword(s):

Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽

Aqueous Medium ◽

Vapor Deposition ◽

Removal Rate ◽

Chemical Mechanical Planarization ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Surface Charges ◽

Shallow Trench Isolation ◽

Colloidal Properties ◽

Trench Isolation

The effects of the electrokinetic behavior of abrasive ceria particles suspended in an aqueous medium and the deposited plasma-enhanced tetraethylorthosilicate (PETEOS) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) Si3N4 films on chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) for shallow trench isolation were investigated. The colloidal characteristics of ceria slurries, such as their stability and surface potential, in acidic, neutral, and alkaline suspensions were examined to determine the correlation between the colloidal properties of ceria slurry and CMP performance. The surface potentials of the ceria particles and the PETEOS and CVD Si3N4 films in an aqueous suspending medium were dependent on the pH of the suspending medium. The differences in surface charges of ceria particles and the PETEOS and CVD Si3N4 films have a profound effect on the removal rate and oxide-to-nitride selectivity of CMP performance.

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Advances in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization

MRS Bulletin ◽

10.1557/mrs2002.244 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 27 (10) ◽

pp. 743-751 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

Rajiv K. Singh ◽

Rajeev Bajaj

Keyword(s):

Surface Topography ◽

Process Integration ◽

Semiconductor Industry ◽

Chemical Mechanical Planarization ◽

Shallow Trench Isolation ◽

Trench Isolation ◽

Fundamental Understanding ◽

Copper Polishing ◽

Future Growth

AbstractThe primary aim of this issue of MRS Bulletin is to present an overview of the materials issues in chemical–mechanical planarization (CMP), also known as chemical–mechanial polishing, a process that is used in the semiconductor industry to isolate and connect individual transistors on a chip. The CMP process has been the fastest-growing semiconductor operation in the last decade, and its future growth is being fueled by the introduction of copper-based interconnects in advanced microprocessors and other devices. Articles in this issue range from providing a fundamental understanding of the CMP process to the latest advancements in the field. Topics covered in these articles include an overview of CMP, fundamental principles of slurry design, understanding wafer–pad–slurry interactions, process integration issues, the formulation of abrasive-free slurries for copper polishing, understanding surface topography issues in shallow trench isolation, and emerging applications.

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